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Across The Fence: The Secret War In Vietnam
For eight years, far beyond the battlefields of Vietnam and the glare of media distortions, American Green Berets fought a deadly secret war in Laos and Cambodia under the aegis of the top secret Military Assistance Command Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group, or SOG.Go deep into the jungle with five SOG warriors surrounded by 10,000 enemy troops as they stack up the dead to build a human buttress for protection. Witness a Green Beret, shot in the back four times and left for dead, who survives to fight savagely against incredible odds to complete his missions. Shudder as an enemy soldier touches a Green Beret’s boot in the dark of night. Cringe as a Sergeant on SOG Spike Team Louisiana calls in an air strike on his team to break an enemy’s wave attack. A team member dies instantly, and a Green Beret has an out-of-body experience as he watches his leg get blown off. “As the commander of SOG, I can say that “Across the Fence” accurately reflects why the secret war was hazardous for our troops and so deadly for the enemy. – Major General John K. Singlaub (U. S. Army Ret.)Black Ops told with the terrifying clarity that only one who was there can tell it.– W.E.B. Griffin & William E. Butterworth IV
337 pages, Paperback
First published September 28, 2003
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1949 people want to read
About the author
John Stryker Meyer
6 books78 followersJohn Stryker Meyer is an American author and U.S. Army veteran, having served in covert reconnaissance with the Studies and Observations Group, also known as MACV-SOG. He has published two works of nonfiction related to his experiences in the Vietnam War.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
May 26, 2011
“Across The Fence” by John Stryker Meyer is one of the very few memoirs written by and about the highly classified Studies and Observations Group or SOG. Running cross border operations during the Vietnam war, small teams of Special Forces soldiers partnered with indigenous team members launched missions into Laos, Cambodia, and North Vietnam. These missions were so secret that it wasn't until the 1990's that information started to become available about this unit. To this day, details are somewhat hard to come by, only three or so former SOG members having written about their time running recon in one of the most dangerous assignments of the war.
As a former Ranger and Greet Beret myself I have a few patrols under my belt, but I can tell you that reading this book made me feel like a pansy. I don't have anything on my predecessors, especially those who served on SOG conducting missions deep behind enemy lines, often outnumbered ten to one (on a good day).
“Across The Fence” recounts the authors personal journey through SOG, but also tells the stories of many of his fellow soldiers and comrades to include the South Vietnamese and American pilots who daringly flew into hostile fire again and again to extract Meyer's team.
Eventually Meyer attains the coveted position of One-Zero, the Team Leader on SOG Recon Team Iowa. Although initially uncertain if he is ready for such a promotion he quickly adapts, leading his men through the exceedingly dangerous and extraordinary absurd, two characteristics that came to characterize the Vietnam War as a whole in my opinion. Meyer also has the unique experience of having led patrols into both Laos (his primary AO) and Cambodia, giving the reader a sense of how those two areas differed from each other. He also leads a patrol into the tri-border region that legendary SOG operator “Mad Dog” Shriver remarks to the author that no one had returned from alive in months!
You will also read about poor Lynn Black, who I think must have done something bad in a past life to have had drawn a short straw and literally got the patrol from hell. It seems like everything that could have gone wrong did. Black's team had to stack dead NVA like chord wood as things continued to deteriorate, all while screaming at a fellow team mate to stop praying to God and fire back at the enemy!
There is plenty in here for the gear heads as well. The author gives extensive detail on the types of weapons and equipment that SOG teams carried, including highly specialized and advanced kit designed specifically for SOG teams by CIA technicians.
To date, I feel that this is the best book written about this secretive unit. The author tells it like it is and like it was, not sparing himself in the process. The book itself is well written and hard to put down. I also appreciated the fact that it was specially formatted for the Amazon Kindle, making this book a must have for those interested in the military. The Kindle edition also includes pictures provided by the author and his friends and although Kindle doesn't do pictures all that great it is good that they are in there and give the reader some insight into visualizing the people and places. I would still like to have a hard copy for my collection but at 3.29 this is a no-brainer.
As a former Ranger and Greet Beret myself I have a few patrols under my belt, but I can tell you that reading this book made me feel like a pansy. I don't have anything on my predecessors, especially those who served on SOG conducting missions deep behind enemy lines, often outnumbered ten to one (on a good day).
“Across The Fence” recounts the authors personal journey through SOG, but also tells the stories of many of his fellow soldiers and comrades to include the South Vietnamese and American pilots who daringly flew into hostile fire again and again to extract Meyer's team.
Eventually Meyer attains the coveted position of One-Zero, the Team Leader on SOG Recon Team Iowa. Although initially uncertain if he is ready for such a promotion he quickly adapts, leading his men through the exceedingly dangerous and extraordinary absurd, two characteristics that came to characterize the Vietnam War as a whole in my opinion. Meyer also has the unique experience of having led patrols into both Laos (his primary AO) and Cambodia, giving the reader a sense of how those two areas differed from each other. He also leads a patrol into the tri-border region that legendary SOG operator “Mad Dog” Shriver remarks to the author that no one had returned from alive in months!
You will also read about poor Lynn Black, who I think must have done something bad in a past life to have had drawn a short straw and literally got the patrol from hell. It seems like everything that could have gone wrong did. Black's team had to stack dead NVA like chord wood as things continued to deteriorate, all while screaming at a fellow team mate to stop praying to God and fire back at the enemy!
There is plenty in here for the gear heads as well. The author gives extensive detail on the types of weapons and equipment that SOG teams carried, including highly specialized and advanced kit designed specifically for SOG teams by CIA technicians.
To date, I feel that this is the best book written about this secretive unit. The author tells it like it is and like it was, not sparing himself in the process. The book itself is well written and hard to put down. I also appreciated the fact that it was specially formatted for the Amazon Kindle, making this book a must have for those interested in the military. The Kindle edition also includes pictures provided by the author and his friends and although Kindle doesn't do pictures all that great it is good that they are in there and give the reader some insight into visualizing the people and places. I would still like to have a hard copy for my collection but at 3.29 this is a no-brainer.
May 30, 2011
Written by Bernie Weisz Vietnam War Historian Pembroke Pines, Fl e mail:BernWei1@aol.com Title of Review: "This book must be read in one sitting! Gut-wrenching!"
In searching for this book, I wondered if the "take-away" was in effect. Being a salesman myself, I know the effectiveness of using this technique to get someone to reach deep in their pockets to pay for a service or product that most people will immediately brush off as way too expensive. The "take-away" is a situation where you have an item of limited quantity or high price for sale and it's very rare, hard to get, it's creator is deceased, and it's not in production or defunct, etc. Finding the existence of John Stryker's book "Across The Fence", I was desperate to read it. I tried all local libraries. No result. I tried national libraries through "interlibrary loan". No go. I tried to buy it through the internet. The least expensive copy was over $100. Was the "take-away" in effect? Was it "that good" that it was worth $100? Then I read on the internet that Mr. Meyer wrote a sequel called "On The Ground". The results to obtain this was worse. No library nor internet seller carried this. I wanted to read this bad. I had read John Plaster's book "SOG", Frank Greco's book "Running Recon", Sedgewick Tourison's book "Secret Army, Secret War", William Shawcross's comprehensive "Sideshow" and finally Joe Parner's thrilling "SOG Medic-Stories from Vietnam and Over the Fence". Reading more on the internet, I came by the fact that John Meyer is currently an editor for the "North County Times" in Oceanside, Ca., where he writes occasional columns. First I tried to contact the publisher of his two books, "Real War Stories", only to find that they are defunct. Then, I called information in California and asked for the North County Times. Calling the newspaper, I asked with trepidation for Mr. Meyer. After a minute, a friendly voice came on the phone and said "can I help you?". Needless to say, after a very amicable conversation, financial arrangements were made, a check was sent, and lo and behold, I was the proud owner of both of Mr. Stryker's treasured books! You can read the other reviews to find out "a taste of this book", but I will add that Mr. Meyer's first book should be read with a 3-4 hour time block reserved. I planned on reading only a few paragraphs before I went to sleep, but the last page was finished as the sun was coming up several hours later! I was very shocked to read Mr. Meyer's mention in his introduction of David A. Maurer's book "The Dying Place", put out by Dell Publishing in 1986. I read that book that year and still own it. I do remember that when I read Mr. Maurer's book I reflected that he had a tremendous imagination and truly his writings were pure fiction and could have never happened. That book, very close to Meyer's, is about the Army who choose 2 Green Beret officers who had total disregard for their personal safety and total hatred for any "rules of engagement" who get paired up with a team of South Vietnamese and Chinese mercenaries who on a Studies and Observation Group mission get dropped from the belly of a Huey chopper loaded to the teeth with C4 explosives and Claymore mines into the NVA's supposedly untouchable stronghold in the highlands of Laos with one mission in mind-kill as much of the enemy as you can! I was shocked to read the parallels between the two books and now know that many of Mauer's anecdotes in his book are more than just "stories". During the Vietnam War, only people in the inner circles of the military knew of SOG operations, and as Mr. Meyer points out, it was on a "need to know" basis. Meyer's job as a member of SOG was to go into "hot areas" that supposedly our military was barred from entering under the "rules of engagement", and those areas is exactly what "Across The Fence" means, i.e. going into areas prohibited, such as running reconnaissance missions across the border of South Vietnam into the North Vietnamese Army's sanctuaries in Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam. This was, undoubtedly, the absolute most dangerous job during the war, nor was there one as secretive. In fact, this book almost never came into existance, as Meyer writes: "the thought never occurred to me to write about my time in South Vietnam and across the fence, especially since I had signed a government document in 1968 pledging to never write or talk publicly about SOG for 20 years". Another impediment to the publication of this book was the anti-Vietnam climate whereupon this nation, after the killings of Kennedy, M.L. King, the My Lai Massacre, Watergate, the issues of amnesty to draft-dodgers, heroin addicted ex-G.I's and the "Agent Orange" disaster, as Mr. Meyer put it: "The anti-Vietnam Veteran sentiment in the country at the time made it difficult to find a publisher who would buy the concept of a Vietnam book that dealt with real people striving against unbelievable odds in a politically handicapped war". The Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy What makes the stories contained in this book (they are all true!) incredible is that Mr. Meyer was part of a "Hatchet Force", code-named "spike teams" that were 4-12 man reconnaissance teams inserted via helicopter secretively "across the fence" deep into Laos, Cambodia or North Vietnam to monitor, interdict and kill superior NVA forces along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Meyer relates that each man would not carry any identification papers, dog tags, photos, diaries, love letters of any form. All uniforms of SOG "spike teams" were generic, i.e. no company insignia, no nametags, no unit designations whatsoever. The reason for this was because the U.S. Government publicly proclaimed that they respected Laotian and Cambodian neutrality. The U.S. Government would explain that no Americans were stationed in Laos, Cambodia, or North Vietnam, which was technically accurate. The U.S. Government had "plausible deniability" if we were captured or killed" And if captured, we were to speak a foreign language." Finally, once "across the border", a SOG member was on his own-there was no conventional military units for support. And because these troops were so far west of South Vietnam, if enemy contact was made that called for an immediate extraction, it would take friendly helicopter units more than an hour to effectuate a rescue! Meyers writes:"there would be no traditional support from (U.S.)Army and Marine Units. Once engaged with the N.V.A., the Pathet Lao (Communist Laotian Guerrillas) or the Khmer Rouge (Communist Cambodian Guerrillas), conventional (U.S.) forces would be prohibited from coming to our aid. There would be no tank support, no armoured personnel carriers. Only C & C assets (SOG's field headquaters in Da Nang, South Vietnam) would be allowed to cross the border. Again, the reconnaissance teams would be so deep into enemy territory that the only way help could arrive would be via aircraft, mostly helicopters". Meyer's individual stories of operations long ago will keep you sweating with anticipation. In my phone conversation with the author, Mr. Meyer agreed with me that he is etremely lucky to be alive after being suspended by one foot upside down, trapped by his own extraction line and swinging from a speeding at full speed helicopter over an extraction site from Laos (read "Upside Down Over Laos"). Equally titillating is Mr. Meyer's tearful phone reunion with an ex N.V.A. officer that Mr. Meyer's shot 3 times during a heated battle. All was forgiven in a unique comraderie only one there could comprehend. Finally there was the story of how SOG members keep, rather than being captured, the "last bullet" (that is the actual name of the chapter) for themselves rather then submit to communist capture. There is also the story of when a SOG team was surrounded by charging NVA troops, U.S. airstrikes involving the dropping of "Napalm" (jellied gasoline) on NVA troops would stop the enemy dead in it's tracks. However, when being faced with a dousing of napalm, the NVA troops would charge the surrounded Americans to, as Meyers describes:"getting close to the belt. In this case, the NVA soldiers moved toward or outright charged the strike team to get as close to the team members as possible to avoid getting burnt" by Air Force ordinance. Mr. Meyer's also uncovers the unique cooperation and bravery of cooperating elite South Vietnamese SOG troops and pilots. After reading Tom Marshall's book "The Price of Exit" and his description of cowardice amongst retreading ARVN troops swarming his helicopter for extraction during operation "Lam Son 719" (Marshall asserts that so many Arvn elite troops dropped their weapons and refused to fight the NVA that when he went to evacuate them in Laos he had to "grease his helicopter skids" to prevent hordes of fleeing Arvn troops overwhelming his Huey). Mr. Meyer's book reveals that this was not the norm and there were in fact extremely tough and brave allies amongst the South Vietnamese we were suporting. If you are a student of the Vietnam War or a historian of that era of American History, this is a book you simply cannot be without. The only tragedy here is that this book is not in every high school library and mandatory reading for any American History collegiate course! Find this book! You can read more about Mr. Meyer at the following web address: http://sogchronicles.com/ or see John's page on Facebook.com
In searching for this book, I wondered if the "take-away" was in effect. Being a salesman myself, I know the effectiveness of using this technique to get someone to reach deep in their pockets to pay for a service or product that most people will immediately brush off as way too expensive. The "take-away" is a situation where you have an item of limited quantity or high price for sale and it's very rare, hard to get, it's creator is deceased, and it's not in production or defunct, etc. Finding the existence of John Stryker's book "Across The Fence", I was desperate to read it. I tried all local libraries. No result. I tried national libraries through "interlibrary loan". No go. I tried to buy it through the internet. The least expensive copy was over $100. Was the "take-away" in effect? Was it "that good" that it was worth $100? Then I read on the internet that Mr. Meyer wrote a sequel called "On The Ground". The results to obtain this was worse. No library nor internet seller carried this. I wanted to read this bad. I had read John Plaster's book "SOG", Frank Greco's book "Running Recon", Sedgewick Tourison's book "Secret Army, Secret War", William Shawcross's comprehensive "Sideshow" and finally Joe Parner's thrilling "SOG Medic-Stories from Vietnam and Over the Fence". Reading more on the internet, I came by the fact that John Meyer is currently an editor for the "North County Times" in Oceanside, Ca., where he writes occasional columns. First I tried to contact the publisher of his two books, "Real War Stories", only to find that they are defunct. Then, I called information in California and asked for the North County Times. Calling the newspaper, I asked with trepidation for Mr. Meyer. After a minute, a friendly voice came on the phone and said "can I help you?". Needless to say, after a very amicable conversation, financial arrangements were made, a check was sent, and lo and behold, I was the proud owner of both of Mr. Stryker's treasured books! You can read the other reviews to find out "a taste of this book", but I will add that Mr. Meyer's first book should be read with a 3-4 hour time block reserved. I planned on reading only a few paragraphs before I went to sleep, but the last page was finished as the sun was coming up several hours later! I was very shocked to read Mr. Meyer's mention in his introduction of David A. Maurer's book "The Dying Place", put out by Dell Publishing in 1986. I read that book that year and still own it. I do remember that when I read Mr. Maurer's book I reflected that he had a tremendous imagination and truly his writings were pure fiction and could have never happened. That book, very close to Meyer's, is about the Army who choose 2 Green Beret officers who had total disregard for their personal safety and total hatred for any "rules of engagement" who get paired up with a team of South Vietnamese and Chinese mercenaries who on a Studies and Observation Group mission get dropped from the belly of a Huey chopper loaded to the teeth with C4 explosives and Claymore mines into the NVA's supposedly untouchable stronghold in the highlands of Laos with one mission in mind-kill as much of the enemy as you can! I was shocked to read the parallels between the two books and now know that many of Mauer's anecdotes in his book are more than just "stories". During the Vietnam War, only people in the inner circles of the military knew of SOG operations, and as Mr. Meyer points out, it was on a "need to know" basis. Meyer's job as a member of SOG was to go into "hot areas" that supposedly our military was barred from entering under the "rules of engagement", and those areas is exactly what "Across The Fence" means, i.e. going into areas prohibited, such as running reconnaissance missions across the border of South Vietnam into the North Vietnamese Army's sanctuaries in Laos, Cambodia and North Vietnam. This was, undoubtedly, the absolute most dangerous job during the war, nor was there one as secretive. In fact, this book almost never came into existance, as Meyer writes: "the thought never occurred to me to write about my time in South Vietnam and across the fence, especially since I had signed a government document in 1968 pledging to never write or talk publicly about SOG for 20 years". Another impediment to the publication of this book was the anti-Vietnam climate whereupon this nation, after the killings of Kennedy, M.L. King, the My Lai Massacre, Watergate, the issues of amnesty to draft-dodgers, heroin addicted ex-G.I's and the "Agent Orange" disaster, as Mr. Meyer put it: "The anti-Vietnam Veteran sentiment in the country at the time made it difficult to find a publisher who would buy the concept of a Vietnam book that dealt with real people striving against unbelievable odds in a politically handicapped war". The Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy What makes the stories contained in this book (they are all true!) incredible is that Mr. Meyer was part of a "Hatchet Force", code-named "spike teams" that were 4-12 man reconnaissance teams inserted via helicopter secretively "across the fence" deep into Laos, Cambodia or North Vietnam to monitor, interdict and kill superior NVA forces along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Meyer relates that each man would not carry any identification papers, dog tags, photos, diaries, love letters of any form. All uniforms of SOG "spike teams" were generic, i.e. no company insignia, no nametags, no unit designations whatsoever. The reason for this was because the U.S. Government publicly proclaimed that they respected Laotian and Cambodian neutrality. The U.S. Government would explain that no Americans were stationed in Laos, Cambodia, or North Vietnam, which was technically accurate. The U.S. Government had "plausible deniability" if we were captured or killed" And if captured, we were to speak a foreign language." Finally, once "across the border", a SOG member was on his own-there was no conventional military units for support. And because these troops were so far west of South Vietnam, if enemy contact was made that called for an immediate extraction, it would take friendly helicopter units more than an hour to effectuate a rescue! Meyers writes:"there would be no traditional support from (U.S.)Army and Marine Units. Once engaged with the N.V.A., the Pathet Lao (Communist Laotian Guerrillas) or the Khmer Rouge (Communist Cambodian Guerrillas), conventional (U.S.) forces would be prohibited from coming to our aid. There would be no tank support, no armoured personnel carriers. Only C & C assets (SOG's field headquaters in Da Nang, South Vietnam) would be allowed to cross the border. Again, the reconnaissance teams would be so deep into enemy territory that the only way help could arrive would be via aircraft, mostly helicopters". Meyer's individual stories of operations long ago will keep you sweating with anticipation. In my phone conversation with the author, Mr. Meyer agreed with me that he is etremely lucky to be alive after being suspended by one foot upside down, trapped by his own extraction line and swinging from a speeding at full speed helicopter over an extraction site from Laos (read "Upside Down Over Laos"). Equally titillating is Mr. Meyer's tearful phone reunion with an ex N.V.A. officer that Mr. Meyer's shot 3 times during a heated battle. All was forgiven in a unique comraderie only one there could comprehend. Finally there was the story of how SOG members keep, rather than being captured, the "last bullet" (that is the actual name of the chapter) for themselves rather then submit to communist capture. There is also the story of when a SOG team was surrounded by charging NVA troops, U.S. airstrikes involving the dropping of "Napalm" (jellied gasoline) on NVA troops would stop the enemy dead in it's tracks. However, when being faced with a dousing of napalm, the NVA troops would charge the surrounded Americans to, as Meyers describes:"getting close to the belt. In this case, the NVA soldiers moved toward or outright charged the strike team to get as close to the team members as possible to avoid getting burnt" by Air Force ordinance. Mr. Meyer's also uncovers the unique cooperation and bravery of cooperating elite South Vietnamese SOG troops and pilots. After reading Tom Marshall's book "The Price of Exit" and his description of cowardice amongst retreading ARVN troops swarming his helicopter for extraction during operation "Lam Son 719" (Marshall asserts that so many Arvn elite troops dropped their weapons and refused to fight the NVA that when he went to evacuate them in Laos he had to "grease his helicopter skids" to prevent hordes of fleeing Arvn troops overwhelming his Huey). Mr. Meyer's book reveals that this was not the norm and there were in fact extremely tough and brave allies amongst the South Vietnamese we were suporting. If you are a student of the Vietnam War or a historian of that era of American History, this is a book you simply cannot be without. The only tragedy here is that this book is not in every high school library and mandatory reading for any American History collegiate course! Find this book! You can read more about Mr. Meyer at the following web address: http://sogchronicles.com/ or see John's page on Facebook.com
February 23, 2024
Excellent book about the young heroes who put their lives on the on the line for many missions across the fence knowing it may be their last. Book has pictures, and a glossary. Along with the missions it was good reading about life when they weren't across the fence.
September 4, 2013
Great special operations book written quite well ! detailed operations of ST Idaho ! Time frame is after Steve Perry was on the ST Idaho !! Anyone interested in FOB 1 or ST Idaho read Bright Light by Steve Perry then Across the Fence ! Then move to On the Ground also by J. Meyer !! All great factual history of Special operations run out of FOB 1 and later CCN !!!
December 10, 2018
Across The Fence is a top-notch memoir and history detailing one of the most hazardous jobs in the Vietnam War. In order to gain intelligence on and disrupt the Ho Chi Minh Trail, small teams of Americans and Vietnamese were secretly inserted into Laos and Cambodia under the umbrella of MACV-SOG (Studies and Observation Group). Wearing sanitized uniforms without emblems and carrying weapons without serial numbers, SOG teams were ghosts, in countries that were officially off-limitsoperating beyond artillery range with whatever air support that they could scrounge up.
Meyer has a fine ear for action-filled writing, and a keen memory (skills sharpened by a post-war career as a reporter and editor). The stories are incredible, with six and eight man teams facing off against entire NVA divisions, a tale I'd be inclined to say was exaggerated except that when writing the book Meyer managed to get in touch with the retired NVA general who commanded the other side of the battle. There are fraught ambushes, desperate firefights, and harrowing last minute rescues. SOG teams were half American, and half Vietnamese, and Meyer has a deep and true fondness for his Vietnamese comrades and their fight against Communism, particularly the ice-cold pilot Captain Nguyen Van Tuong, who flew the team into and out of danger in his elderly H-34 helicopter.
Across The Fence is a top-notch memoir by an exceptional soldier. It doesn't aspire to make a grand statement amount the nature of the war, but it meets its aims and then some. The only flaw is that while there are plenty of pictures, the publisher screwed up and made them postage stamp size. Meyer has his comrades deserve better than blurry pixels. I hope a new edition fixes that problem.
Meyer has a fine ear for action-filled writing, and a keen memory (skills sharpened by a post-war career as a reporter and editor). The stories are incredible, with six and eight man teams facing off against entire NVA divisions, a tale I'd be inclined to say was exaggerated except that when writing the book Meyer managed to get in touch with the retired NVA general who commanded the other side of the battle. There are fraught ambushes, desperate firefights, and harrowing last minute rescues. SOG teams were half American, and half Vietnamese, and Meyer has a deep and true fondness for his Vietnamese comrades and their fight against Communism, particularly the ice-cold pilot Captain Nguyen Van Tuong, who flew the team into and out of danger in his elderly H-34 helicopter.
Across The Fence is a top-notch memoir by an exceptional soldier. It doesn't aspire to make a grand statement amount the nature of the war, but it meets its aims and then some. The only flaw is that while there are plenty of pictures, the publisher screwed up and made them postage stamp size. Meyer has his comrades deserve better than blurry pixels. I hope a new edition fixes that problem.
September 23, 2014
this is the best G.D. war book that came out of Viet Nam.
Lots of people like it because of the behind the scenes stuff about secret operations in a place where we were not supposed to be.
And all written by a guy who was there who turned himself into a great writer with this memoir of Viet Nam.
Higly recommended for anyone who needs to know what was going on.
Or anyone who just likes a good war story with action, secrets, drama, and life and death struggle.
Let's put it this way: Once you read this book, you will know what it is like to be trapped on a mountain top behind enemy lines, and you look down and all you can see below is a bunch of enemy soldiers carrying torches headed your way. Coming for you.
And they are not inviting you to tea, either.
Whew!
Unforgettable.
Lots of people like it because of the behind the scenes stuff about secret operations in a place where we were not supposed to be.
And all written by a guy who was there who turned himself into a great writer with this memoir of Viet Nam.
Higly recommended for anyone who needs to know what was going on.
Or anyone who just likes a good war story with action, secrets, drama, and life and death struggle.
Let's put it this way: Once you read this book, you will know what it is like to be trapped on a mountain top behind enemy lines, and you look down and all you can see below is a bunch of enemy soldiers carrying torches headed your way. Coming for you.
And they are not inviting you to tea, either.
Whew!
Unforgettable.
June 3, 2018
Back on the ground
Well written, turned into a page turner. Took me back to the good times and bad times, but mostly helped me remember my brothers.
Well written, turned into a page turner. Took me back to the good times and bad times, but mostly helped me remember my brothers.
July 29, 2024
This is strictly for the Audible version:
The story is fairly interesting, though if you’ve listened to the Jocko podcasts with Tilt then the book will offer little that you have not heard. My issue is that the author, with all due respect, narrated the book for the audio version. His cadence and pronunciation makes it very difficult to listen to. Words like cacophony are pronounced “kackohfohnie”, Mao Tse-Tung is “Mayo Teesay Tung” etc.
I would have enjoyed the story far more and have been more immersed had there been a professional narrator.
The story is fairly interesting, though if you’ve listened to the Jocko podcasts with Tilt then the book will offer little that you have not heard. My issue is that the author, with all due respect, narrated the book for the audio version. His cadence and pronunciation makes it very difficult to listen to. Words like cacophony are pronounced “kackohfohnie”, Mao Tse-Tung is “Mayo Teesay Tung” etc.
I would have enjoyed the story far more and have been more immersed had there been a professional narrator.
September 27, 2023
This was an absolutely thrilling read, couldn’t put it down. There was nonstop action that would keep you on your toes and stress you out! It is crazy to think that people actually went through this and survived to tell the tale.
January 1, 2025
I discovered this book by accident while reading an article about watches used by American soldiers in Vietnam. Surprisingly, among the somehow boring army models there were some inconspicuous civilian Seiko watches. Special Forces veteran "Tilt" Meyer explained how he needed a "sterile" watch for covert operations that could not be linked to the US government or military in case the owner was killed or captured. And the Japanese Seikos were perfect for the job. After a bit of googling, I found out that Meyer is also a successful author, and that is how I discovered the world of Top-Secret missions in Cambodia and Laos.
Since there are so many American memoirs of the war in Southeast Asia, I will point out a few things that make Across the Fence somehow different.
First of all, there is a huge deal of respect for South Vietnamese soldiers. While other memoirs are full of racist remarks about how “gooks”, “dinks” or “zipperheads” were corrupt and miserable warriors, Meyer shows only admiration and respect: “I quickly learned that the indigenous personnel on our teams were highly skilled and fearless fighters.” His assessment should be taken seriously as Meyer was not a conscript but an elite, highly trained soldier. In some cases, Meyer even refused reinforcements to his mixed unit because he feared additional Americans would only hinder him in combat: „We didn’t bring any additional Americans on the team because our Vietnamese team members were so strong and we felt they were better in the jungle than most Americans in camp.” Meyer and his colleagues affectionately nicknamed the Vietnamese in their unit as "little people", and they always made sure they were the first to get food, comfort, and rest. In missions where soldiers carefully weighed every ounce of gear, Meyer never forgot to carry cough syrup for his Vietnamese interpreter, who was a heavy smoker.
In combat, the Vietnamese returned this respect and care to Meyer, sometimes in funny but moving “pidgin” English: "One night, while (American) LeTourneau was recording a verbal message for his parents on his portable cassette player, Lap — the young Vietnamese point man — went into his room and spoke into the recorder: "I want to tell you, parents of Private LeTourneau, not to worry about him. We respect him and I will keep an eye on him. And don't worry; if the enemy shoots at him, I catch the bullets with my body. I will protect your son. Thank you for sending him to Vietnam. He is a good soldier."
Another difference lies in the ability of the Vietnamese to cope with the traumas of war. Americans commonly mention PTSD, drug and alcohol problems or suicides among veterans. Some even lacked the adrenaline of combat and had difficulty fitting back into normal life. On the contrary, Vietnamese veterans from Meyer's unit, who, unlike the Americans, spent many years in the war, mostly ended up as successful businessmen. Does this indicate that the Vietnamese are generally more resistant to stress?
But enough about comparisons. Meyer's book is a quick and easy read because it is full of action. After a somewhat lengthy introduction about the role of special forces in Vietnam, Meyer finally gets to his own dramatic experience. There is a powerful part when he openly describes how it feels to kill a person for the very first time. There is a spine-chilling scene when an enemy scout touches his shoe in the pitch-black night. The reader must also admire the determination of the "Green Berets" – as they tested on themselves how much plastic explosives would knock out a person without killing him. They used it to catch prisoners…
The book's biggest flaw is that it’s relatively shallow and misses "three dimensions”. Apart from thrilling actions, one learns relatively little about the war itself. Did Meyer ever have doubts about the meaning of war? We have no idea. What were the motives of his fellow soldiers who volunteered for the most dangerous missions? (all special forces soldiers were volunteers). Professionalism? Pride in belonging to the elite? What did Meyer think of the Vietnamese civilians or the antiwar protests in the USA? Was he interested in Vietnamese history or culture? What were the motives of his South Vietnamese colleagues? Money? Patriotism? The book inexplicably ignores all these topics. Still, I give it a solid 3 stars.
Since there are so many American memoirs of the war in Southeast Asia, I will point out a few things that make Across the Fence somehow different.
First of all, there is a huge deal of respect for South Vietnamese soldiers. While other memoirs are full of racist remarks about how “gooks”, “dinks” or “zipperheads” were corrupt and miserable warriors, Meyer shows only admiration and respect: “I quickly learned that the indigenous personnel on our teams were highly skilled and fearless fighters.” His assessment should be taken seriously as Meyer was not a conscript but an elite, highly trained soldier. In some cases, Meyer even refused reinforcements to his mixed unit because he feared additional Americans would only hinder him in combat: „We didn’t bring any additional Americans on the team because our Vietnamese team members were so strong and we felt they were better in the jungle than most Americans in camp.” Meyer and his colleagues affectionately nicknamed the Vietnamese in their unit as "little people", and they always made sure they were the first to get food, comfort, and rest. In missions where soldiers carefully weighed every ounce of gear, Meyer never forgot to carry cough syrup for his Vietnamese interpreter, who was a heavy smoker.
In combat, the Vietnamese returned this respect and care to Meyer, sometimes in funny but moving “pidgin” English: "One night, while (American) LeTourneau was recording a verbal message for his parents on his portable cassette player, Lap — the young Vietnamese point man — went into his room and spoke into the recorder: "I want to tell you, parents of Private LeTourneau, not to worry about him. We respect him and I will keep an eye on him. And don't worry; if the enemy shoots at him, I catch the bullets with my body. I will protect your son. Thank you for sending him to Vietnam. He is a good soldier."
Another difference lies in the ability of the Vietnamese to cope with the traumas of war. Americans commonly mention PTSD, drug and alcohol problems or suicides among veterans. Some even lacked the adrenaline of combat and had difficulty fitting back into normal life. On the contrary, Vietnamese veterans from Meyer's unit, who, unlike the Americans, spent many years in the war, mostly ended up as successful businessmen. Does this indicate that the Vietnamese are generally more resistant to stress?
But enough about comparisons. Meyer's book is a quick and easy read because it is full of action. After a somewhat lengthy introduction about the role of special forces in Vietnam, Meyer finally gets to his own dramatic experience. There is a powerful part when he openly describes how it feels to kill a person for the very first time. There is a spine-chilling scene when an enemy scout touches his shoe in the pitch-black night. The reader must also admire the determination of the "Green Berets" – as they tested on themselves how much plastic explosives would knock out a person without killing him. They used it to catch prisoners…
The book's biggest flaw is that it’s relatively shallow and misses "three dimensions”. Apart from thrilling actions, one learns relatively little about the war itself. Did Meyer ever have doubts about the meaning of war? We have no idea. What were the motives of his fellow soldiers who volunteered for the most dangerous missions? (all special forces soldiers were volunteers). Professionalism? Pride in belonging to the elite? What did Meyer think of the Vietnamese civilians or the antiwar protests in the USA? Was he interested in Vietnamese history or culture? What were the motives of his South Vietnamese colleagues? Money? Patriotism? The book inexplicably ignores all these topics. Still, I give it a solid 3 stars.
September 5, 2023
John Striker Meyer is career journalist and Vietnam veteran who, for matters of secrecy, had to wait over twenty years to write his personal memoirs of war. This is because Meyer was a Green Beret assigned to the highly classified Studies and Observations Group (SOG), tasked to conduct covert "across the fence" operations in Laos and Cambodia. In the late nineties, his SOG-SOF peers pressured him to write his memoirs. The result is a tremendous "warts and all" collection of vignettes from his first tour in Vietnam -- roughly 1968-69 (he returned again for a very short tour later) -- that not only tells his personal story but immortalizes some of the great men with whom he served. What is so striking about this book is its fundamental honesty. Like most memoirs, Meyer operates with an imperfect memory (especially after 20-plus years), but he has collaborated with several of his former associates at SOG for clarification. With all first-person memoirs, its almost impossible for a writer to not put themselves in the best light. But Meyer confesses his own flaws, mistakes and fears in a refreshingly candid manner. He's not a literary writer like Philip Caputo but he isn't full of self-congratulatory hyperbole like most of the dozens of SEAL memoirists coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan (who didn't wait their 20 years, I might add, to describe their "covert" experiences). Like most truthful war memoirs, Meyer's experience is a collection of vignettes that run the gamut from boredom to sheer terror, from bravery to immense stupidity. War, after all, is not a thriller. In this regard, Across the Fence reminds me of my two favorite war memoirs, Five Four Whiskey: A Memory of War (Robert Sweatmon) and The Reaper (Nicolas Irving). Meyer was an incredibly young Specialist E-4 when he became a Spike Team Leader, a job usually given to E-8/9s. This is an incredible revelation in itself. I never served in SOF but as an Airborne Ranger qualified Intel weenie I occasionally rubbed elbows with or worked alongside special operators from the 1987 to 2006 era. The modern SOF community (with the exception of the young troopers in the Ranger Battalions) consists of older, more experienced personnel. The extreme youth of many Vietnam era Green Berets and their brutal experiences on missions we would consider near-suicide today (like daytime helicopter inserts in enemy territory on previously used LZs?!?!) makes for a heartbreaking read. But read it you must -- to balance out the stereotypes and hyperbole found in so-many current war memoirs. And to honor the great generation of warriors that went to Vietnam while their clueless peers shirked their duty. Meyer is a good man, and this is a good book. So go find a copy and read it. It is highly recommended.
Note: My copy is a 2011 edition with updates not found in the earlier edition. Be warned: The Kindle edition appears to have some editing issues.
Note: My copy is a 2011 edition with updates not found in the earlier edition. Be warned: The Kindle edition appears to have some editing issues.
April 23, 2018
Short but exciting and well written
Across the fence is the story of MAC-V SOG recon troopers who conducted reconnaissance and prisoner snatch operations in Cambodia and Laos during the Vietnam War. Meyer, a former patrol leader, tells about the inserts, the terrain, what they carried, the daring live fire extractions, and life in the SF camps. A great read if you are fascinated by the exploits of these daring men.
Across the fence is the story of MAC-V SOG recon troopers who conducted reconnaissance and prisoner snatch operations in Cambodia and Laos during the Vietnam War. Meyer, a former patrol leader, tells about the inserts, the terrain, what they carried, the daring live fire extractions, and life in the SF camps. A great read if you are fascinated by the exploits of these daring men.
May 13, 2020
Given the subject matter, I thought Across the Fence would be more compelling. It was a little dull. The repeated use of jargon and lack of character development made it a difficult read at times. The stories told throughout the book were enormously captivating, though. I’m glad I read it because I was able to learn about a part of the Vietnam War I knew little about, but I didn’t love the way it was told. It was almost like a retrospective stream of consciousness.
September 4, 2024
Great book about SOG based on real stories told by the author. Some of the missions described here are so spectacular, it is even hard to believe it really happened. The amount of pure bravery and sense of duty of both Americans and indigenous members of SOG teams is impossible to measure. It is a shame that general population in the US was so unsupportive of these men who sacrificed their lives and health in order to help out people seeking to live in a communism-free country.
May 30, 2017
I've read many Macv sog memoirs and this one is by far the most fluid, detailed, and down to earth books I have read to date. These guys were superhuman badasses, but the author somehow stays humble through out. Awesome, the book was very detailed and definitely one of the best books written about these elite "insane" men... loved it.
July 23, 2018
Across the Femce
An interesting read and it helps me understand what my brother did in the Vietnam War. Now I know why he use to say I was never in Vietnam. He was one of you 5th Group who retired from the army but relived that war after he retired. I cannot thank you enough for giving me a look into what he did.
An interesting read and it helps me understand what my brother did in the Vietnam War. Now I know why he use to say I was never in Vietnam. He was one of you 5th Group who retired from the army but relived that war after he retired. I cannot thank you enough for giving me a look into what he did.
December 21, 2021
This book has to do with the secret operations of Special Forces within the Vietnam War. Hair-raising experiences that would have taken a lot of nerve and a lot of courage to go through. The book is well-written, informative and easy to read. This is the real deal when it comes to the covert war in Vietnam. .
November 3, 2022
Very little is known about the exploits of MACV-SOG missions but these memoirs of former members open the reader up to a front row seat of the secret missions never before known to the public. From time spent in country to helo rides to their targets, every mission described was an eye opening experience for the reader.
July 30, 2021
As far as war stories go, this book is pretty good. The courage of the men (American and non-American) whose stories are told, is unquestioned.
December 31, 2021
WOW!!! I learned so much! Meyer is an amazing storyteller. I gasped out loud multiple times at the close calls these brave men survived. Incredible!
April 3, 2024
The Vietnam War: hell on earth for many that left an entire country confused as to why we were pursuing Ho Chi Minh and his communist sympathizers. When people think of the greatest generation, they think of able bodied men that rallied behind the cause of toppling the Nazi regime and stymieing the Axis powers from engulfing entire continents with genocidal evil.
When I think of the most heroic generation of men, I think of the Vietnam vets. A majority of the US population despised them and castigated them at every turn. They came home to a place that used to be home, but was not home anymore. Instead of fighting for their country, they fought for themselves and endured conditions that were worse than hell itself. The entire world paid attention to what was happening in South Vietnam, but nobody knew about the top secret war in North Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Technically, the US government denied ever being there.
Young Green Berets and indigenous Vietnamese, aged anywhere from 15-24, volunteered for a black project that had a 100% casualty rate - suicide missions that they could not speak about, write about or even tell their closest family members about for 20 years via signed NDA. If you volunteered for SOG, it was a guarantee that you would be injured and/or killed.
After listening to John Stryker Meyer and other SOG team members on Jocko Podcast, I truly could not believe what these men endured. Somehow, the book is even more unbelievable in the most literal sense. This book left me absolutely speechless and dumbfounded by what these young men did. The heroism that these Green Berets and indigenous Vietnamese troops epitomized was unfathomable. I can’t help but wonder, how did every single SOG trooper not receive the Medal of Honor? This book is an absolute must read.
This is the first review I have ever written on good reads. I wrote this because these men deserve to have their stories read by every American. They are dying every day and we need to understand what these men sacrificed. You won’t believe it, even if you read it. This was one of the most captivating books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. We owe everything to these men.
When I think of the most heroic generation of men, I think of the Vietnam vets. A majority of the US population despised them and castigated them at every turn. They came home to a place that used to be home, but was not home anymore. Instead of fighting for their country, they fought for themselves and endured conditions that were worse than hell itself. The entire world paid attention to what was happening in South Vietnam, but nobody knew about the top secret war in North Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. Technically, the US government denied ever being there.
Young Green Berets and indigenous Vietnamese, aged anywhere from 15-24, volunteered for a black project that had a 100% casualty rate - suicide missions that they could not speak about, write about or even tell their closest family members about for 20 years via signed NDA. If you volunteered for SOG, it was a guarantee that you would be injured and/or killed.
After listening to John Stryker Meyer and other SOG team members on Jocko Podcast, I truly could not believe what these men endured. Somehow, the book is even more unbelievable in the most literal sense. This book left me absolutely speechless and dumbfounded by what these young men did. The heroism that these Green Berets and indigenous Vietnamese troops epitomized was unfathomable. I can’t help but wonder, how did every single SOG trooper not receive the Medal of Honor? This book is an absolute must read.
This is the first review I have ever written on good reads. I wrote this because these men deserve to have their stories read by every American. They are dying every day and we need to understand what these men sacrificed. You won’t believe it, even if you read it. This was one of the most captivating books I have ever had the pleasure of reading. We owe everything to these men.
November 20, 2024
This account of the Across the Fence warriors is more than I expected. The stories are very engaging and made me very eager to return to reading. Without a doubt these true stories of incredible soldiers is mind boggling. Meyer lets you know that he and many of his comrades don't expect to live to their next mission. But many luckily do, and the sampling of the bravery from indigenous pilots and SOG members is history that needed to be told.
If you are at all interested in the stories of this war, this is a top read. The telling of how a small recon team of around six members get inserted into points along the Ho Chi Min trail, or DMZ, and survive under incredible conditions, and as the title says ... this is a secret war no one can tell about for twenty years. The mindset and training of prepping for this kind of operation. The tools and what to carry to survive being dropped into enemy "no man's land". How they get inserted, and how they move around and Ultimately have to get pulled out of dire circumstances. Very thought provoking how every step and small nuance needed to be covered. The Vietnamese point man is dressed in NVA uniform with an AK47, small sawed off M79 grenade launchers, the use of aged H34 choppers for insert and extract by indigenous pilots for these harrowing missions.
Meyer points out these life saving tools, equipment, strategies to the reader and tells many stories of missions, good, bad and tragic that make this such an Excellent book.
If you are at all interested in the stories of this war, this is a top read. The telling of how a small recon team of around six members get inserted into points along the Ho Chi Min trail, or DMZ, and survive under incredible conditions, and as the title says ... this is a secret war no one can tell about for twenty years. The mindset and training of prepping for this kind of operation. The tools and what to carry to survive being dropped into enemy "no man's land". How they get inserted, and how they move around and Ultimately have to get pulled out of dire circumstances. Very thought provoking how every step and small nuance needed to be covered. The Vietnamese point man is dressed in NVA uniform with an AK47, small sawed off M79 grenade launchers, the use of aged H34 choppers for insert and extract by indigenous pilots for these harrowing missions.
Meyer points out these life saving tools, equipment, strategies to the reader and tells many stories of missions, good, bad and tragic that make this such an Excellent book.
January 11, 2024
I heard about John Stryker Meyer through Jocko Willink and listened to excerpts from his SOGCasts, but took little further interest. Now I've come across this topic again after reading "By Honor Bound" about the MoH actions of Mike Thornton and Tommy Norris, who were part of MACVSOG as SEALs. Now that I've finished reading the book, I'm actually a little regretful that I didn't read these stories and listen to the SOGCast episodes of Meyer and his SOG comrades sooner.
Having said that, I have to admit that the stories of John S. Meyer and his C&C squads are truly unbelievable. Being dropped behind enemy lines with the barest of equipment to conduct reconnaissance, often coming under fire from a vastly outnumbered enemy force, is almost inconceivable. At the same time, you can't even tell your family and friends what you really do in Vietnam because you're sworn not to say anything about these secret missions for 20 years. I was particularly fascinated by the relationship with the indigenous members of the individual spike teams (and Kingbee pilots) and how respectfully and enthusiastically Meyer talks about their skills.
I will definitely be reading Meyer's other books about the SOG in Vietnam in the future!
Having said that, I have to admit that the stories of John S. Meyer and his C&C squads are truly unbelievable. Being dropped behind enemy lines with the barest of equipment to conduct reconnaissance, often coming under fire from a vastly outnumbered enemy force, is almost inconceivable. At the same time, you can't even tell your family and friends what you really do in Vietnam because you're sworn not to say anything about these secret missions for 20 years. I was particularly fascinated by the relationship with the indigenous members of the individual spike teams (and Kingbee pilots) and how respectfully and enthusiastically Meyer talks about their skills.
I will definitely be reading Meyer's other books about the SOG in Vietnam in the future!
November 20, 2020
I stumbled upon MACV SOG on Jocko Wilink's podcast. This was the first book I bought along with John Plaster's "Secret Commandos" to learn more about this clandestine unit in Vietnam. These men had ice in their veins. The experiences that Tilt describes in this book just baffle me. With MACV SOG having the highest casualty rating in the entire war, many of these men got wounded multiple times and went back for more. The dedication and grit found in this book, particularly with the South Vietnamese Kingbee pilots and the RT's indigenous personnel, make it a humbling, terrifying, and if I dare say, an exhilarating read. I highly recommend along with his second book "On the Ground."
September 28, 2025
Quite a gripping memoir of the author's experiences in MACV-SOG, the famed American spec ops group during the Vietnam War. Been over a year since I actually read it, so I can't recall much in terms of a review, but Stryker Meyer did have some edge-of-your-seat action sequences about SOG operations deep in Laos and Cambodia, where the USA was not officially supposed to be deployed. I read it to find some primary source material for a 20th Century History elective I was teaching, but I don't think I ended up using anything from it in my lessons. Nonetheless, entertaining read.
August 14, 2024
Riveting and immersive! This book puts you right over the fence in America's top secret war that was carefully hidden for decades, that took place inside the Vietnam War. John S. Meyer gives you a front row seat to the heart pounding experience of being hunted by the elite soldiers of the NVA, and kicking some serious ass all along the way. I can't say enough great things about this subject matter and the men who bravely served in SOG. A great read!
May 4, 2025
Very interesting. A look into a side of the Vietnam war that traditionally hasn’t been told as much as the others. An entertaining read. Be sure to check out John S Meyer’s podcast on Spotify as well. It covers much of what was told in this book, from the man who wrote it and was there. Finished this one pretty quickly, I felt that I could pick up and read at any time. Action around every turn of the page.
May 17, 2025
Listen to Jocko Podcast #180-182 for just a few of these stories, and if you are interested in more read this book. Insanity. The things that happened in combat with the NVA while Meyer was across the fence in Laos and Cambodia, under plausible deniability by the US govt, are so unbelievable that if he wasn’t telling them himself, you wouldn’t think they were true. Worth reading, I couldn’t put it down.
July 29, 2025
I was given this book and told it was probably the closest I could come to knowing what my brother was doing in this war. I do know that like the author he respected and admired the indigenous people. I know that he had vowed not to reveal where he was or what he was doing. I know our government had erased him as a veteran. It did answer quite a few questions for me. Very powerful! I am in absolute awe of these young men!
April 3, 2018
Special forces in Vietnam
Great book, I highly recommend. The author has put together a solid book based on his experiences and in the process has immortalized his fellow soldiers. The book is readable and filled with details about the different missions he was on and the preparation before hand.
Great book, I highly recommend. The author has put together a solid book based on his experiences and in the process has immortalized his fellow soldiers. The book is readable and filled with details about the different missions he was on and the preparation before hand.
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